Module manager: Eric Prenowitz
Email: e.prenowitz@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module offers an introduction to semiology, and its poststructural afterlife in the realm of textuality, broadly conceived. It does this by charting a course through the work of Roland Barthes, from his structuralist phase, with its revolutionary insights into the workings of language and cultural systems, to his more open-ended writing, which both extends and critiques the strictly semiological approach. You will gain basic semiological skills for the analysis of cultural artefacts, and will be introduced to the political implications of semiology, notably its understanding of the way cultural messages can be ‘naturalised’. The module will also explore aspects of cultural production that escape the semiological toolkit, demanding a response that is more inventive, though no less rigourous. This Barthesian intellectual trajectory through structuralism and beyond serves as a model for an intellectually and ethically responsible approach to thinking culture today. Emphasis is placed throughout on creative close reading in an interdisciplinary approach to literature, music and visual cultures. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module introduces Saussurian linguistics and the extension of these insights by Roland Barthes to a general semiology taking in visual sign systems and other forms of cultural activity or expression as well as language. You will develop critical reading and writing skills relevant to a wide range of cultural artefacts and practices. The learning activities introduce and explore the concepts and approaches covered with increasing complexity as the semester advances, each new insight building on the previous ones. The assessment tasks reinforce this progression, as you move from mastering the basic concepts and terminology to putting them into analytical practice.
On successful completion of the module you will be able to:
1. Use the concepts of structural linguistics and critical semiology in the analysis of cultural artefacts.
2. Employ terms associated with the theory of the text and textuality in the analysis of cultural artefacts.
3. Devise inventive, meticulous close analyses of cultural artefacts using some of the ideas or critical gestures explored on the module.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
4. Practice close readings of texts and other cultural artefacts, developing critical thinking by engaging with different sources and materials to weigh up different arguments and perspectives
5. Effectively communicate your thoughts through written assessments.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students receive feedback on:
Mid-term Mythology exercise (short essay: written feedback)
Final essay (written feedback)
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Written | 60 |
| Coursework | Written | 40 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 14/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team